“Yet when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days.”

John 11:6

This miraculous story begins with the following declaration: “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (v. 5).

It is as if God is teaching us that at the foundation of all His dealings with us, no matter how dark and mysterious they may be, we must believe in His infinite, unmerited, and unchanging love for us. The same love that permits pain to occur.

Mary and Martha never doubted that Jesus would quickly drop everything to keep their brother alive. But here is what happened instead? “…He stayed where He was two more days.” Wow!

But here’s the interesting thing: Jesus refrained from going BECAUSE He loved them!

It was His love that kept Him from hurrying at once to their home. Anything less than infinite love would have rushed instantly to their side in an effort to end their grief.

Only the power of divine love could have held back the spontaneity of the Savior’s tenderheartedness until the angel of pain had finished his work.

When we wonder why God allows us to go through pain let us ask ourselves the following question: Can we estimate how indebted we are to suffering and pain?

But for what we have suffered…where would our faith be?

What about our patience? What would it be like without tribulations to develop it?

Let us pray that we will believe that no matter what we are suffering – Christ loves us. And although He is eager to rush and lift us out of our pain…His divine love for us causes Him to carefully watch over us waiting for the right moment of purification to lift us out of the fire and cool us in the waters of overwhelming blessings…amen.